Anne Applebaum makes some good points in her op-ed today on the similarity in Presidential rhetoric across time and parties. I can’t help but feel, however, that when she compares conservative hero Ronald Regan to liberal icon John Kennedy, Reagan comes off by far the best. Both gave moving speeches at the Berlin Wall, but Reagan’s – because his actions throughout his Presidency matched his words — helped precipitate the fall of the Soviet Empire.

Kennedy’s speech was hollow bombast, filled with high-sounding phrases that were belied by his consistently wimpish responses to Soviet aggression.  He may have affected a Churchillian toughness in his rhetoric, but his Chamberlain-like actions in Berlin, Laos and the Bay of Pigs in Cuba unnecessarily brought us to the brink of nuclear war during the Cuban missile crisis – still, astoundingly, considered his “finest moment” and a “profile in courage” by liberal historians.

In a world of tepid editorial pages, The Washington Post remains a standout.  Its writers are truly diverse, incisive and smarter about policy than the readers who actually make it.  If we took economic advice from Robert Samuelson, legal and constitutional advice from George Will, and let Charles Krauthammer direct U.S. foreign policy, we’d have the finest punditocracy since, well, the authors of the Federalist Papers.  Even Richard Cohen, who can sometimes rise to the level of insightful and funny, is on hand to lighten affairs on occasion by playing the village idiot.

Count among the best Anne Applebaum.  Her recent column on presidential addresses goes beyond the usual rhetorical hairsplitting to reveal what is unique about America.

In a State of the Union address the president can set out the details of his new federal policy on widgets and waterworks.  In the Inaugural Address, however, Barack Obama will need to be as much of a poet as his friend, Elizabeth Alexander, a prize-winning poet who will read the celebratory poem.

The new president will want to speak to the nation in transcendent and optimistic terms.  He will obviously want to note the racial dimensions of his victory—the final fulfillment of the Constitution—while linking his election to his predecessors and the long chain of forty-four peaceful transfers of power.

Eli Saslow’s Washington Post profile of Barack Obama’s chief speechwriter, 27 year-old Jon Favreau, lays the groundwork for Favreau’s DC media persona.

Young? Check.
Guitar hero, text messaging, Red Bull, rumpled and unshaven, mildly inappropriate partying.

Successful? Check.
Quick on his feet, trusted by the president-elect, associated with the best speeches of the last year.

Slightly in over his head? Check.
Air mattress on the floor, mild freakout moments, not looking forward to being the boss.

Quintessentially writerly? Check.
Starbucks, mindmeld with his boss, consults the shamans of the profession, eager someday to write in his own voice.

The goal of Podium Pundits is to bring together former presidential speechwriters from both Democratic and Republican administrations to analyze major speeches.  The initial contributors to the blog will come from the White House Writers Group (WHWG) and the West Wing Writers (WWW).  WHWG was founded by former Reagan and Bush 41 speechwriters and WWW by former Clinton speechwriters.  Their first object of analysis will be President-Elect Obama’s Inaugural Address.